Monday, September 26, 2011

Welcome to Rec Rider. Wait...What's Rec Rider?

Hello wide-world-of-the-interwebz. My name is Owl Jones and I just bought my first bike. Ok, it's not my very first bike, but it's the first bike I've ever bought. It's also the first bike I've ridden since I was about 16. That makes for about a 24 year absence from being on anything with two wheels that didn't have an engine.

While it's true that you "never forget how to ride a bike" it's not true - at least for me - that you never forget how to ride a bike well. I was a bit shaky at first, to say the least. But, after about 10 minutes of wobbling around in a mostly empty parking lot, things started to feel familiar for me. I don't know if this happens to everyone who gets on a bike after a long absence but I started having flash-backs to the last time I rode a bike.

I mean, not the last day I rode....just in general. I remembered getting that Huffy when I was 12. The one with the very un-cool "banana" style seat. ( Un-cool or not, I rode the wheels off that thing! ) I remember getting my first "ten speed." I remember it was tan, and also pretty un-cool for 1984. Then, I remember my first road bike...a Raleigh that cost around $300. Not alot of money in 1984, but not peanuts either. I remembered a friend and I rode about 27 miles one day and I was so tired when I got home that I went straight to bed and slept all night. I hit the bed at 5 pm if I remember correctly.

So anyway, I'm back on the saddle again after a long, long absence. Why? Well, that's a long story involving the need for more exercise and doctor's visits and too many late night pizza runs. I'm sure I'll get into that at some point...but for now I'll just tell you a little more about me and we'll call this first post a success.

My name really isn't Owl, but it's what I answer to the most, and the fastest. Feel free to call me Owl here, too even though I'm normally hailed by that moniker when wearing waders and a vest and holding a fly rod. I run a somewhat successful fly fishing blog called OwlJones.com and by golly you can feel free to stop in anytime over there and check it out.

Since buying the new bike a few days ago, I've been trying to find resources for all kinds of bike related stuff and I've come to the conclusion that I'm a bit of an oddity in the "cycling scene." I'm a conservative. A "tea party" guy even. I know, I know, the shock must be overwhelming. It seems that most of my newly acquired biking brethren are mostly liberals and granola geeks. I don't have a problem with that - but if you stumble across this page and think " hey, cool - another socially conscience, politically correct cyclist" I'm afraid you might be very, very disappointed. :)

So, that's it for a first post. I'm hoping to get out on the bike tomorrow and try to take a few photos of it. It's no $3000 road racing machine, but I'm hoping as my ticket to losing weight and outdoor recreation it'll do the job just fine. I'm also hoping to hook up with others in North Georgia, USA that feel as lost as I do around the Lycra Warriors for some slower-paced path and road riding in the near future. I've tried for three days to find a "bicycle club" for folks other than road racers and MTN bikers and haven't found any. So, another reason for starting the blog....for recreational riders. hence...well,...you know....

2 comments:

Welcome back to bikes...certainly less stressful than running - and actually has a fun element to it as well (unlike running). I hope you enjoy it and find a few people you like cruising around with on the paths.

Not everyone has to be a spandex junkie...but those who do that are mostly nice people too...mostly.

Hey thanks Sinjin! My first comment! I'm sure it's like every other sport in that you have really friendly people, some generally nice folks, some that aren't as social( that would probably be where I fit in) and some that are real jerks. I'll keep my eye out on those really friendly folks - they're the ones you gotta watch out for! :) LOL